COME AND LET US RETURN UNTO THE LORD.

 

JANUARY 31

Come and let us return unto the Lord.
Hosea 6:1

 

We have wandered from him,
  in our thoughts,
    in our desires, and
      in our pursuits.
 
We have been running after other lovers,
   and set up idols in our hearts.
 
Our conduct has been sinful;
   and the effect most injurious to ourselves.
 
Come then, and let us return to the Lord.
 
He is willing to receive us.
He will readily pardon us.
 
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
   just to forgive us our sins, and
     to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
 
Let us fall at his feet, and
   frankly confess our folly.
 
Let us endeavour to turn our thoughts,
  desires, and affections back to him again.
 
Especially, let us seek from him
  the Spirit of grace and supplication,
  for without his holy operations,
  there will be no godly sorrow,
   no hatred of sin,
     no self abhorrence,
       no faith in the promises,
or restoration of the joys of salvation.
 
We must return, or our sins will be aggravated.
We must return, or our miseries will be deep.
 
Let us then at once,
  without any delay,
    take with us words, and
      approach his throne.
 
We may plead his past mercies,
  we may plead his glorious name,
   we may plead a Saviour's blood,
     nor can we plead in vain.
 
Hear him call,--
 
Return, O wanderer, return!
And seek thine injured Father's face!
Those new desires that in thee burn,
Were kindled by reclaiming grace.
 
James Smith 1849

I WOULD THOU WERT COLD OR HOT.

 

JANUARY 30
 
 
I would thou wert cold or hot.
Revelation 3:15

 

The Lord Jesus hates lukewarmness.
 
He would rather we made no profession

  a religion at all,
  then to profess and not practice his precepts.
 
He loves to see his people zealous,
 
He has done enough for us to make us so, and
  it is a shame to us when we are dull 

   and lifeless in his ways.
 
But it is to be feared, that many professors do not
  realize indifference to be a sin.
 
They think they have professed Christ,
  if they just attend a few duties, and
   creep along certain course, it is enough.
 
They are never hot, and  
  they do not like to see others so;
  but generally prophecy evil of them when they do.
 
Professors of religion,
   Jesus says, “Be hot, or cold!”
 
Be altogether a Christian or
   throw off the profession, lay aside the name.
 
Do not wear the name to dishonor it.
 
Your Saviour was always zealous,
  his zeal surprised both his friends and foes;
  and he said to his father,
   “The zeal of thine house has eaten me up.”
 
Is he not our example in this,
  as well as in other things?
 
Should we not endeavour to regulate our pace by his?
 
He hastened to suffer and longed for his bitter agonies.
 
Well, how shall we be today?
 
Hot, or cold, or Luke one?
 
Jesus, I fain would find
Thy zeal for God in me,
Thy yearning pity for mankind,
Thy burning charity
 
James Smith 1849

WHOSO TRUSTETH IN THE LORD, HAPPY IS HE

 

 

JANUARY 29
 
Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.
Proverbs 16:20

 
The Lord is the only legitimate object 

  to trust for a sinner.
 
He cannot trust in himself,
  for his heart is deceitful above all things.
 
He cannot trust in his fellow men,
  for they are no better.
 
If he does trust in anyone but the Lord,
  vexation, disappointment, and sorrow, 

   must be the results.
 
In God he may trust 

  for the promise warrants him.
 
And God he should trust,
  for the precepts commands him.
 
In God he must trust,
  for every other refuge will fail him.
 
The word of God is true, and cannot deceive us;
  it is unchangeable, and cannot fail us;
  it is most gracious, and just suits us.
 
In his word, God has promised everything 

    we can possibly want,
  he has invited us to ask for all he has promised, and
  he has assured us that we shall not be disappointed.
 
If therefore we rest on his word,
  rely on his faithfulness, and
  expect him to appear for us,
  he shall prove him to be true to his word.
 
And do so, we shall be happy,
  for it will dissipate our doubts,
  conquer our fears, prevent disappointment,
  and secure to us in numerable mercies.
 
“He that trusted in the Lord,
  mercy shall compass him about.”
 
Oh, make betrayal of his love!
Experience will decide
How blest are they, and only they
Who in his truth confide.
 
James Smith 1849

I PRESS TOWARD THE MARK

 

JANUARY 28

I press toward the mark,
Philippians 3:14

 
The believer’s mark is perfection, or
  exact conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
His first aim is to possess Christ,
  and then to be like Christ.
 
When we are like Jesus,
  every foe is overcome,
    every difficulty is mastered, and
     the crown is about to be put on our heads.
 
The prize is won, and
  the honour will be worn for ever.
 
Exact likeness to Jesus we shall not attain to here,
  but we may be very much more like him than we are.
 
Our tempers may be made more heavenly,
  our natures more spiritual, and
    our conversation more scriptural.
 
We may be weaned from the present world,
  our motives may be purified, and
   holiness may become our element and delight.
 
He who had begun in us a good work,
  can carry it on; and
  as we are now very unlike what we were,
  we may yet become very unlike 

    what we are at the present.
 
But if we would, 

  it must be the mark at which we aim.
 
We must ever keep it in our eye,
  as the racer did the mark which 

   was to decide the race.
 
This we too often forget, and
  Are too well satisfied with present things.
 

Jesus, that perfect good unknown,

Restless, resigned, I wait to gain:

But give me strength to follow on,

And strive, and labour, and sustain,

Nor ever from thine own depart,

‘Till thee I love with all my heart.

 
James Smith 1849

WHOM THE LORD LOVETH

 

JANUARY 27
 
Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth.
Proverbs 3:12

 
There are many things in us that need correction.
 
Our follies call for stripes.
Our Father knoweth our frame,
  he reads our hearts,
  he observes our conduct, and
  he has purposed to conform us to his own beloved Son.
 
This will account for a most of all our trials, afflictions, and sufferings.
 
He loves us too well,
  to even seem to sanction us in anything that is wrong.
 
If he did not love us,
  he would not correct us.
 
If one trial would answer,
  he never would send us two.
 
He is mercy is too great.
 
His heart is too kind.
 
It is his children that he corrects,
  and by correcting instructs.
 
Let us not then, for one moment,
  suppose that our trials are indications of his wrath.
 
He may be displeased with us, and
   therefore afflict us;
   but he has sworn that he will not be wroth with us.
 
He will visit our transgressions with a rod,
  and iniquities with stripes;
  but he will not withdraw his loving kindness,
   nor suffer his faithfulness to fail.
 
Precious assurances this!
 
Sweet views of troubles and trials!
 
Let us get a scriptural assurance that
  an interest in our heavenly Father's love,
  and then rejoice even in tribulation.
 
Let him tenderly chastise,
Let him graciously reprove,
Father, all within me cries,
All thy ways are truth and love.
 
James Smith 1849

YE ARE MADE NIGH BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.

 

JANUARY 26
Ye are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13
 

Distance from God is the consequences of sin, and
  to the believer it is the cause of trouble and distressed.
 
We were all banished far from God once;
  nor could we ever have been brought nigh unto him,
  if Jesus had not become our Substitute, and
  satisfied the law on our behalf.
 
The blood of Jesus removes every obstacle out of
  the way of our approaching to God,
  it secures us an honorable reception by God.
 
We never could have known
 the blessedness of nearness to God,
  if Jesus had not left his Father's bosom,
    obeyed the law in our nature,
      and died in our stead.
 
He is the only way to God.
 
By him both Jews and Gentiles have access 

  by one Spirit unto the Father.
 
He stands between God and the sinner,
  and lays his hands on both:
   he brings God down to us,
   and he leads us up to God.
 
There is nothing between us and God now,
  but Jesus.
 
He made peace, and he keeps fees.
 
We are reconciled to God,
  and God is at peace with us.
 
He is nigh unto us, and
  loves us to be nigh unto him.
 
O to realize that God has accepted us in Jesus,
  and that he is near to us in every place!
 

Jesus, the Savior, shed his blood,

To bring the guilty nigh to God,

‘Tis here I find relief from sin,

A balm to make my conscience clean.

 
 
James Smith 1849
 

The Coming of the Lord Draweth Nigh.

 

JANUARY 25
The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
James 5:8

 
If we really love the Saviour
  we shall long for his appearing.
And in proportion to the strength of our love
  will be our desired for his speedy return.
 
He will come, for he has promised to do so.
He will soon come, so his word declares,
  and passing events seemed to give
    an emphasis to that word.
 
Until he come, the world will be in bondage,
  the church will be low in a low place, and
  his people will be groaning under 

    the sorrows and trials.
 
His coming is the hope of his church, and
  it should find a place in our meditations,
   desires, and prayers.
 
He comes to roll away the curse from creation.
 
He comes to subdue all things unto himself.
 
He comes to bring complete and
  everlasting deliverance to his saints.
 
He comes to be glorified in his saints, and
  to be admired in all them that believe.
 
He comes to reign on the mount Zion,
  and before his ancients gloriously.
 
O to have a part in the first resurrection!
 
O to be among the invited guests at
  the marriage supper of the lamb!
 
 

We know the solemn hour draws nigh,

When Jesus shall appear again,

Hasten, O Lord, and bow the sky,

And here begin thy glorious reign.

The number of thy saints complete,

And tread thy foes beneath thy feet.

 
 
James Smith 1849

HIM HATH GOD EXALTED TO GIVE REPENTANCE.

 

JANUARY 24
Him hath God exalted to give repentance.
   Acts 5:31
 

Every sinner ought to repent,
  for God commands him;
  but no one will repent unless Christ bestows
  the grace of repentance upon him.
 
God commands us to repent and
  thus maintains his authority;
  Christ gives us grace to repent and
  thus displays his grace.
 
We often tried to repent, and cannot;
  our hearts are so hard, they will not relent;
  Our eyes are so dry, they will not weep.
 
This is a source of grief, and
  sometimes furnishes Satan
  with matter for temptation,
  with which he distresses us.
 
We must see that repentance is necessary,
  we must feel the desires to repent, and
  then we must look to Jesus for grace
    to enable us to repent.
 
Jesus is exalted to the highest possible honour.
He has universal authority.
All the treasures of grace and glory are committed to him.
 
His Father who exalted him, did so,
that he might give all necessary grace to his people;
  and out of his fullness we must receive grace for grace.
 
What God requires of us as creatures,
  Jesus gives us grace to perform as Christians.
 
Everything, therefore,
  should lead us to Christ, and
  to make us use of his fullness.
 
The lamb is exalted repentance is given,
That sin maybe hated, while sinners believed;
Contrition is granted and God justified.
The sinner is humbled, and self is denied.
 
James Smith 1849

HE WILL NOT CALL BACK HIS WORD.

 

JANUARY 23
 
He will not call back his words.
Isaiah 31:2

 

As the Lord never speaks rashly,
  there can be no cause for it.
 
As he knew the end from the beginning,
  it would be inconsistent to do it.
 
His word is like himself, immutable.
It must have its accomplishment.
 
Hence the Saviour said 

“Heaven and earth shall pass away,
  but my words shall not pass away.”
 
This will apply to all the promises.
They are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.
They are sure to all the seed.
They can never be broken.
 
Therefore we should place implicit confidence in them, 

  and endeavour to chase away our fears with them.
 
They are exceeding great, very plain, 

  and most precious.
They are not to be compared with gold, 

   or with much fine gold.
 
Christian, here is thy comfort, Thy God
   “will not call back his words.”
 
What he had said, he will do.
 
Here is thy security,
   the word of the Lord in dearth forever.
 
Sinner, this subject should make thee tremble.
  God will be as true to his threatening,
    as he will be to his promises.
 
If so, hell shall receive every person
   who dies in an unconverted state.
 

The word of God shall ever stand,

Firm, and immutable and sure;

Wise is his heart, and strong is his hand,

His people's welfare to secure,

But sinners who reject his word,

Shall fall beneath his glittering sword.

 
James Smith 1849

THEY SHALL OBTAIN JOY AND GLADNESS.

 

 

JANUARY 22
They shall obtain joy and gladness.
Isaiah 35:10
 

They who mourn on earth, on account of sin;
  shall rejoice in heaven, possessed of holiness.
 
Many of the Lord’s people enjoy but little here,
  but joy is sown for the righteous,
  and gladness for the upright in heart.
 
We may have a dull dripping seed time,
  but we shall have a joyous sunny harvest.
 
A sickly body, a trying family, a distracted church,
  a troublesome business, may hinder our enjoy much now;
  but all these things will soon come to an end.
 
Sickness shall give place to health;
  trials to triumphs;
  the church shall be united and happy;
  and our employments will be our enjoyments.
 
Sighs will give place to songs,
  sadness will be exchanged for gladness,
  and everlasting joy will crown us.
 
We have the worst at the present,
  the best is all before us.
 
Joy and gladness is our inheritance,
  our Saviour procured it by his death,
  he secures it by his intercession, and
  he is waiting to introduce us to it.
 
The time will come soon come, when
   “God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes;
    and there shall be no more sorrow, nor crying,
     neither shall there be any more pain.”
 
Yes, though the universe shall burn,
   And God work his destroyed,
With songs his ransom’d shall return,
   And everlasting joy.
 
James Smith 1849

THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU.

 

 

JANUARY 21
 
The Spirit of God dwelleth in you.
 
I Corinthians 3:16
 

Dwelleth in whom!
          In every Christian.
 
For “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
    he is not of his.”
 
Wherever the Spirit dwells,
   he works, and his work is the efficient
   cause of our sanctification, comfort,
     and usefulness.
 
He dwells in us as the Spirit of life,
  quickening and reviving us.

As a Spirit of light,
  instructing and illuminating us.

As a Spirit of liberty,
  delivering from bondage, dread, and terror.

As a Spirit of love, shedding abroad
   the love of God in our hearts, and
   leading us to love him and all his dear people.

As a Spirit of power,
   enabling us to conquer the world,
     overcome Satan, and
      crucify the old man with his deeds.

As a Spirit of prayer,
   teaching us how to pray, and
   making intercession for us with groanings
    which cannot be uttered.

As a Spirit of peace,
   applying the atonement,
    giving us peace with God through
    our Lord Jesus Christ, and
      producing an us a peaceable disposition.

As the Spirit of Christ,
   exalting him in our minds,
   enthroning him in our breast, and
   glorifying him in us and by us.
 
Reader, have you received the Holy Ghost?
 
Do you make it manifest by your zeal for Christ?
 
Come, sacred Spirit! From above
And fill my poor, cold heart with love:
Soften the flesh the flinty stone,
And let thy god-like power be known.
 
 
James Smith 1849

Doubtless Thor Art Our Father.

 

JANUARY 20
 
Doubtless thou art our father.
 
Isaiah 63:16
 

 
A fatherless child is generally an object of pity.
 
But a believer is never fatherless,
  his faith maybe weak,
   his fears may be many,
    his trials may be great,
     his foes may be fierce, and
      his prospects maybe dark,
but God is his father.
 
“We are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus;”
  and nothing can dissolve that relationship.
 
We may lose the enjoyment of it,
  but the privilege remains the same.
 
Once a child, a child for ever.
 
Nor shall we easily give up our confidence;
  but rather, like the saints of old,
  though sensible of many sins,
  though enduring painful privations,
  though mourning over the hiding of the Lords face,
  we shall stand fast the fact,
     “Doubtless thou art our father.”
 
Beloved if God is our father,
  he will chasten us,
  he will put our love and confidence to the proof,
  he will teach us some hard and difficult lessons;
    but he will still pity us,
  spare us,
    listen to us, and
      send us all that is absolutely necessary.
 
If God is our father,
  he will notice the least good thing
    that may be in us;
  he will take the meaning of our hearts; and
  he will accept the smallest offering at our hand.
 
Then let us, while we dwell below,
   Obey our Father's voice;
To all his dispensations bow,
   And in his name rejoice.
 
 
James Smith 1849

What Hast Thou That Thou didst Not Receive?

 

JANUARY 19
 
What hast thou that thou didst not receive?
1 Corinthians 4:7
 

 

Believer, ponder this question.
 
It is intended to destroy the pride of thy heart,
  and to produce genuine humility.
 
What has thou?
 
Look around thee, how many mercies!
 
Look within thee, what gifts and graces!
 
Look before thee, what glorious prospects!
 
Compare thyself with many of thine acquaintances;
   contrast thy circumstances with theirs,
    how different!
      how preferrable!
 
But who made thee to differ?
 
Who conferred these benefits?
Did you inherit them?
 
Who ordained the relationships?
Did you procure them?
 
Who gave you the means?
Did you receive them from God?
 
Then gratefully acknowledge it.
Then be humble before God.
Then beware of boasting before men,
   or despising others.
 
Trace up all the mercies to their source, and
  you will find it to be free and sovereign grace.
 
We have nothing that is good,
  nothing that is valuable,
    nothing that is useful,
       nothing that is ornamental,
but we have received it from our good and gracious God.
 
Therefore let him that glorieth glory in the Lord.
 
But, if we have received all from the Lord,
  ought we not to use all for the Lord.
 

Lord, let thy mercy crown

Ours yet remaining days;

And, when thy will on earth is done,

In heaven we’ll sing thy praise.

 
 
James Smith 1849

Make Thy Way Straight Before My Face.

 

JANUARY 18
 
Make thy way straight before my face.
 Psalm 5:4

 

The true Christian desires to be ruled by God's word,
  and guided by God's Providence.
 
He wishes to be what God requires;
  to do what God commands; and
  to go where God directs.
 
But he is often in great difficulty;
  he cannot see the way;
  he is uncertain of what course he should take; and
  his cried is, “Make my way straight before my face.”
 
Let me see the way thou hast marked out;
  and walk in the path which will be pleasing in thy sight.
 
The Lord will sometimes have us wait at his door,
     plead at his throne, and
  learn that the way of man 

      is not in himself,
  that it is not in man 

      that walketh to direct his steps.
 
To wait the Lord’s time requires patience;
   and a walk in the Lord’s way,
       requires submission.
 
The Lord's way generally crosses
  the desires of flesh and blood,
  modifies our pride and independence,
   exercises all the graces of the Holy Spirit, and
   makes us feel our absolute dependence on Divine grace.
 
Still the Christian when he is right mind, prefers it;
  and would rather walk in it than in any other.
 
God's way leads us to glory, honor, and immortality.
 
How rough soe’er the way,
Dear Saviour, still lead on;
Nor leave us till we say,
  “Father, thy will be done.”
At most we do but taste the cup,
For thou alone hast drunk it up.
 
James Smith 1849